This Best Tomato Soup recipe is a comforting dish, with a rich flavor and smooth texture. Perfect for a quick, satisfying meal that will warm you up on a chilly day! Whether enjoyed alone or paired with a grilled cheese, this easy tomato soup never fails to hit the spot!
Try these tasty soups next! Creamy Mushroom Soup, Slow Cooker Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, Creamiest Roasted Cauliflower Soup, and Asparagus Soup.
Why This Recipe Works
Simple Ingredients: The beauty of this best tomato soup recipe is the simplicity of the ingredients. These are simple, pantry staples that you don’t have to just through hurdles to find! The combination of simple, high quality ingredients will make a flavorful bowl of tomato soup that the whole family will love.
Flavorful Homemade Goodness: You will absolutely never open a can of tomato soup again once you make it at home! This homemade tomato soup is easy to make, and can be on the dinner table in just 45 minutes! This homemade version of tomato soup is so much better than anything you can buy at the store!
Ingredients
- Butter: If you prefer not to use butter, you can use a high quality olive oil instead!
- Leek: Leek adds a lovely flavor and texture! Be sure to thoroughly clean it. Slice it in half vertically and run it under cold water, making sure to get in between the layers.
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes: I like to use canned fire roasted tomatoes because they have a deeper flavor.
- Vegetable Broth: I used low sodium vegetable broth! If you use regular, you should go light on the salt until you taste at the end.
- Basil: I like to add whole basil sprigs while the soup is simmering to let them release their flavor, and then discard later. If you don’t have fresh basil, you can add a bit of dried basil instead!
Here’s How to Make It
- Sauté Aromatics: Heat the butter in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over a medium high heat. Add the leek with a large pinch of salt, and cook until soft and just starting to color, this should take about 10 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for a further minute, until fragrant. (photos 1-5)
- Add Tomatoes: Add the canned tomatoes, followed by the vegetable broth, using a little of the broth to wash out the cans of every last bit of tomato juice. (photos 6-8)
- Add Seasonings: Stir in the brown sugar, oregano, and the whole basil sprigs and bring to the boil. Season well with salt and pepper before reducing the heat to low and leaving to simmer for 20 minutes. (photos 9-10)
- Remove from Heat & Serve: Remove the soup from the heat, discarding the basil sprigs. Add the heavy cream and blitz using a stick blender until smooth. Add more salt and pepper to taste before serving the tomato soup with more basil and a swirl of cream in each bowl. (photos 11-12)
Expert Tips
- If you prefer to use canned tomato sauce instead of fire roasted tomatoes, you totally can! Use a bit less vegetable broth, just add enough until you get your desired thickness! Also, use just 1 tsp of brown sugar and then adjust at the end according to taste. If it is overly acidic, you can add a little more sugar!
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend the soup in a stand blender. However, you have to be very careful when blending hot liquids as the lid can pop off due to the pressure! Allow the soup to cool a little bit and then hold the lid on top using a kitchen towel to avoid any messes.
- To make vegan tomato soup, replace the butter with olive oil and the heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk!
- If you prefer, you can use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth!
Frequently Asked Questions
Tomato soup is one of those soups that goes great with a simple side of crusty bread. You can also pair it with a grilled cheese, my copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks, homemade biscuits, focaccia bread, or garlic knots! A fresh side salad would really round out the meal, too.
Store any leftover roasted tomato soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days! This soup also freezes well, up to 3 months!
More Cozy Soup Recipes to Try
- Carrot and Coriander Soup
- Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Zuppa Toscana
- Creamy Potato Soup
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 leek - trimmed and sliced
- salt - to taste
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 28 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 ½ cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 large basil sprigs
- cracked black pepper - to taste
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream - plus extra to serve
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over a medium high heat. Add the leek with a large pinch of salt, and cook until soft and just starting to color: this should take about 10 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for a further minute, until fragrant.
- Add the canned tomatoes, followed by the vegetable broth, using a little of the broth to wash out the cans of every last bit of tomato juice. Stir in the brown sugar, oregano and the whole basil sprigs and bring to the boil. Season well with salt and pepper before reducing the heat to low and leaving to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat, discarding the basil sprigs. Add the heavy cream and blitz using a stick blender until smooth. Add more salt and pepper to taste before serving with more basil and a swirl of cream in each bowl.
Notes
- To make Tomato Soup with canned tomato sauce: substitute the fire roasted tomatoes for canned tomato sauce. Gradually add the vegetable broth to thin the soup to your liking, up to 2 cups. Add only 1 tsp of brown sugar to the soup, and add more to taste at the end when you’re checking the rest of the seasoning.
- This soup will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, and freezes well for up to 3 months.
- For a healthier option, substitute coconut milk for the heavy cream. For a vegan option, also switch out the butter for oil. If you prefer to use canned tomato sauce instead of fire roasted tomatoes, you totally can! Use a bit less vegetable broth, just add enough until you get your desired thickness! Also, use just 1 tsp of brown sugar and then adjust at the end according to taste. If it is overly acidic, you can add a little more sugar!
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend the soup in a stand blender. However, you have to be very careful when blending hot liquids as the lid can pop off due to the pressure! Allow the soup to cool a little bit and then hold the lid on top using a kitchen towel to avoid any messes.
- To make vegan tomato soup, replace the butter with olive oil and the heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk!
- If you prefer, you can use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth!
Oh my better than ANY canned or ANY other homemade…tomato, basil, leek and garlic – every flavor you’d want in a goooooood tomato soup.
Excellent!! Have two other very good tomato soup recipes, wife says this one is the best of all!
For the tomato soup, are you referring to using something like campbells condensed tomato soup (as that is the 10 oz size, compared to ready to eat, which is usually larger can.
Thank you,
Nancy
Hi Nancy- you’re correct! It’s a condensed soup. I have added that word in the recipe for clarification- thanks!
Just put this on the stove for dinner tonight – – looking forward to it and am hoping it tastes as good as it looks!! LOL I am making grilled cheese on the side, too, because I am not sure how filling it will end up being for my kiddos…Thanks for the recipe!
I see this only serves 4. I’m not much of a cook but I’d like to make this in a crock pot to hopefully feed a lot more then 4 people at a party I’m attending. Do you happen to know how many servings a crock pot generally holds so I can figure out how many times I need to double or triple this recipe? Or have any suggestions on that?
Hi Rebecca! This soup would be terrific for a party, it is always a huge hit! If you were to use a 4 quart crockpot, You could double the recipe and serve at least 8. If you used a 6 quart crockpot, I’d say you could probably safely triple the recipe to feet about 12. Hope this helps!
YUM. That is all I can say. These photos are beautiful, and the recipe sounds delicious!! Definitely giving this a try ASAP!
Thanks for posting this! I’m making this for dinner tonight and I can’t wait to try it. Just to clarify – if I am using frozen tortellini, I should thaw it but I don’t cook it before I add it to the soup? Or should I cook it first before adding? Thanks!!
If you’re using frozen tortellini, just let it thaw and beforehand and then just put it in just as the recipe calls for! Hope you enjoy it Jill! 🙂
It was delicious! Thank you. I used Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup b/c that’s what I had. I also added fresh spinach and 1/2t. ground black pepper. Great additions (in my opinion!). Thanks for sharing your great recipes. I will use a lot of them.
I just made this soup for supper. Loved it! Really easy and fast (less than 25 mins to the table). Thanks for sharing
This is my husband’s favorite soup I’ve ever made, and he doesn’t even like tomatoes! Haha! I love simple and QUICK meals, I’m so glad you enjoyed this Leigh!!
Looks FAB! But I can’t eat any diary. Is there a way to use something other than half-and-half and it still taste good?
I would try tripling the broth and adding a corn starch slurry. Whisk together 1/4 cup cold water with about 3 tablespoons of corn starch until dissolved. Pour this into the boiling soup, stir, and allow to thicken. I can’t promise it will taste the same but it’s an idea!
This sounds so good! I am so in the mood for soup every day for the rest of the year after my cookie overload 🙂 I’m putting this on my list!
Looks so incredibly delicious! Definitely pinning!